Educating Tomorrow's Engineers and Computer Scientists (E-TECS)
The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant to the College of Engineering & Applied Science (CEAS) to establish the E-TECS Program for new freshmen with high academic merit and demonstrated financial need. As an E-TECS scholar, you will receive and participate in the following:
- Scholarship for freshman and sophomore years of up to $10,000 total
- Dedicated faculty and industry mentoring
- Monthly activities, such as seminars and field trips to explore modern trends in engineering and computer science
- Social activities to get to know your classmates and professors
In addition, you will be able to join several other exciting programs in the College of Engineering & Applied Science, including the Engineering & Computer Science Residence and Peer Mentoring Groups. Women and minority students are encouraged to apply!
Eligibility:
- Admission to CEAS as new freshman for Fall 2010
- Application for Financial Aid (www.fafsa.gov) and demonstration of financial need
- Overall high school GPA of at least 3.00/4.00
- Completion of at least three years each of math and science, with average GPA 3.00/4.00
- Placement into Calculus (Math 231 or higher) by Fall 2010
Note: Your math placement will be determined by the UW System Math Placement Test to be taken after you have been admitted. If you do not place into calculus, we will provide you with options to improve your placement and still remain scholarship eligible.
Application Procedure. Please download application materials, which include complete instructions on how to submit the application. For further information, please contact Ms. Sharon Kaempfer at kaempfer@uwm.edu or 414-229-4667.
Important Dates. Review of applications and announcements of awards will begin December 1, 2009 and will continue on a rolling basis until all available scholarships have been awarded. However, later applications are welcome, as we anticipate issuing awards into the Spring. Students who seek housing in the new Engineering & Computer Science Residence are urged to apply for admission (including all fees, transcripts, and ACT/SAT test scores) and housing by December 1, 2009 to receive first priority. All applicants are urged to file the FAFSA as early as possible after January 1, 2010.
Terms and Conditions. All E-TECS awards are contingent upon demonstration of placement into MATH 231 (Calculus I) and sufficient financial need prior to fall enrollment. Because the Placement Tests and FAFSA are often not completed until during the Spring, it is possible that some awards will be issued beforehand (based upon data provided in the application form). Therefore, all awards should be interpreted as being conditional pending demonstration of calculus placement and financial need; no awards will be activated until these conditions have been met.
In most cases, each E-TECS scholar will receive a full scholarship of $2,500 for Fall 2010; however, in exceptional cases, partial award amounts will be issued (see financial aid information below). The scholarship will be automatically renewed for up to three more semesters contingent upon successful academic performance, including the maintenance of an overall GPA of 2.750/4.000 and the earning of at least C in each course. The E-TECS Program reserves the right to adjust award values based on changes in a student’s financial need status and/or academic performance. A full listing of all terms and conditions is included in the application packet.
Financial Aid Resources and Information. Financial need is defined as the difference between your Cost of Attendance (COA) and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Recent COA data for UWM can be obtained from the Department of Financial Aid. The actual EFC is determined by the FAFSA, but we ask that you also estimate your EFC as part of the application process. Students whose EFC is at least $5,000 below their COA will receive priority consideration. However, students with exceptional academic merit but lesser need will be considered for partial scholarships. Scholarships cannot be issued in amounts that exceed total financial need.
Math Placement Resources and Information. All new freshmen must take the UWM System Math Placement Test, which is used to determine your placement in math. To reach the E-TECS requirement of calculus placement, we strongly urge all applicants to prepare for the Math Placement Test well in advance. To ensure your preparedness, we recommend that you do not take the test before January 1, 2010 if you have not yet studied calculus in high school. Here is an excellent resource for test preparation. Please watch this page for information regarding practice test sessions at UWM.
